Before the historic debut of the Curaçao national team at the World Cup, Dick Advocaat, the Dutch specialist, decided to leave his position as head coach. The main reason for his departure was health issues concerning his daughter. "Family is more important than football," noted the 78-year-old coach, adding that Curaçao's participation in the world tournament is one of the significant achievements of his career. Fred Rutten has already been appointed as his replacement; he previously coached clubs such as PSV, Feyenoord, Twente, and the German Schalke 04.
The Curaçao national team, representing an island with a population of about 156,000 people, will become the smallest country ever to participate in men's World Cups, breaking Iceland's record set in 2018. In their first match of the tournament, the Caribbean team will face the German national team. For Dick Advocaat, this stage has become another bright chapter in his career, which also included work with the national teams of the Netherlands and South Korea, as well as coaching the Scottish Rangers and English Sunderland, which he helped remain in the Premier League in 2015.
